Combing machine



Dec. 1, 1970 VIGNON 3,543,352

COMBING MACHINE Filed Sept. 12, 1968 United States Patent 3,543,352COMBING MACHINE Louis Vignon, Geneva, Switzerland, assignor to HispanoSuiza (Suisse) S.A., Geneva, Switzerland Filed Sept. 12, 1968, Ser. No.759,394 Claims priority, applicationsLsgxemburg, Sept. 26, 1967,

Int. (:1. 601 19/20 US. Cl. 19232 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSUREAnd a rotation control continuously rotates this rack with a speedcorresponding to a theoretical continuous rotation of the detachingcylinder at a speed of 1 z 2 per stroke of the rack.

This invention relates to combing machines, that is to say, in a generalmanner, to textile machines intended to ensure a purging operation(called combing) on a sheet of textile fibres (in particular long fibressuch as wool fibres) generally prepared in the course of a preliminarycarding operation.

It has already been proposed to make such machines comprise, for thesupply and the evacuation of the treated sheet of fibres, at least onecylinder (qualified in the terms of the art as detaching cylinder")driven with an unsymmetrical oscillating movement whose amplitude in thedirection of the evacuation of the treated sheet of fibres is greaterthan in the opposite direction, this detaching cylinder being frequently(in particular when the machine is intended for combing long fibres)mounted on a movable support driven with an alternating rectilinearmovement perpendicular to the axis of this detaching cylinder.

Nevertheless, the control means hitherto envisaged for imparting to thedetaching cylinder of the machine such an unsymmetrical oscillatingmovement had numerous disadvantages from the point of view of theircumbersomeness, their complexity, their reliability and their longevity;moreover some of these proposed solutions were incompatible with themounting of the detaching cylinder on a movable support having analternating movement.

The main object of this invention is to provide machines of the typeindicated which fulfill the requirements of practice, and in particular,in which the disadvantages mentioned above of the prior combingmachines, are mitigated.

According to the principal feature of this invention, a combing machineof the type in question comprising at least one detaching cylinderactuated by control means adapted to impart to said detaching cylinderan unsymmetrical oscillating movement whose amplitude A in the directionof the evacuation of the treated sheet of fibres is greater than itsamplitude A in the opposite direction, is characterized by the fact thatsaid control means comprise a helical pinion coupled in rotation withthe detaching cylinder to be driven and mounted so as to be constantlyin mesh with a cylindrical control rack, having helical teethcorresponding to the teeth of said helical pinion, whose axis isorthogonal to the axis of this helical pinion, said rack being mountedslidably and rotatably and being itself controlled simultaneously intranslation and in rotation by two distinct control devices, namely, onthe one hand, a translation control capable of imposing on thecylindrical rack a rectilinear reciprocating movement Whose amplitude issuch that the corresponding theoretical movement of the detachingcylinder (move ment that the detaching cylinder would undergo if it weresubjected solely to the action of this translation control, actionmodified possibly by the alternating movement of the support of saiddetaching cylinder in the case in which this support is driven with suchan alternating movement) is a symmetrical oscillating movement having anamplitude equal to and, on the other hand, a rotation control capable ofimposing on the cylindrical rack (which then acts in the manner of atangent worm on the helical pinion with which it is constantly in mesh)a movement of continuous rotation whose direction corresponds to arotation of the detaching cylinder in the direction of the evacuation ofthe sheet of fibres and whose angular speed is such that thecorresponding theoretical movement of the detaching cylinder (movementthat the detaching cylinder would undergo if it were subjected solely tothe action of this rotation control) is a movement of continuousrotation having, for a time lapse equal to the duration of a singlestroke (in one direction or the other) of the cylindrical rack under theaction of its translation control, an amplitude equal to due to which,finally, under the conjugated and continuous (i.e. Without shocks)action of said translation control and of said rotation control, whoseeifects are superimposed to generate a resultant movement of the helicalpinion in mesh with the cylindrical rack, and hence to generate aresultant movement of the detaching cylinder, this latter movement iseffectively an unsymmetrical oscillating movement of amplitude A in thedirection of the evacuation of the sheet of fibres and of amplitude A;(less than the amplitude A in the opposite direction.

In any case, this invention will be able to be well understood with theaid of the following complementary description, as well as of theaccompanying drawing, which complementary description and drawing are,of course, given merely by way of example.

The single figure of the drawing represents, in perspec tive and in aschematic manner, the control mechanism of the detaching cylinder of acombing machine established according to one embodiment of theinvention.

This combing machine is intended for the combing of sheets of longtextile fibres, for example of wool.

First of all, with regard to this machine in its overall aspect, 'butwith the exception of the control means to be provided on this machinefor actuating the detaching cylinder, this machine can be established inany appropriate manner with the only condition being that it comprise atleast one detaching cylinder 1 preferably mounted on a support 1,,driven with an alternating movement shown on the drawing by the doublearrow F, this alter nating movement being caused by any appropriatedriving mechanism 30, for example of the rod and crank type.

In these conditions, it appears unnecessary to enter into any detailconcerning the elements of the machine other than these control meansfor the detaching cylinder 1, since the principal feature of theinvention is essentially directed towards the control means in question,which must be established in a manner to impart to the detachingcylinder 1 an unsymmetrical oscillating movement whose amplitude A inthe direction of the evacuation of the treated sheet of fibres isgreater than its amplitude A in the opposite direction.

In accordance with this principal feature which is illustrated in thedrawing, the control means of the detaching cylinder 1 comprise ahelical pinion 2 coupled in rotation, for example by a belt transmission3, with the detaching cylinder 1 to be driven. The spindle 2 of thishelical pinion 2 is carried by the support 1 of the detaching cylinderand this pinion is constantly in mesh with a cylindrical control rack 4having helical teeth corresponding to the teeth of the pinion 2. Thiscontrol rack 4 has its axis orthogonal to the axis of the pinion 2 andit is mounted so as to be able to slide and to rotate with respect toits axis. The control rack 4 is itself controlled simultaneously intranslation and in rotation by two distinct controls, namely, on the onehand, a translation control (designated as a whole by the reference CT)capable of imposing on this rack 4 a rectilinear reciprocating movementwhose amplitude is such that the corresponding theoretical movement ofthe detaching cylinder 1 is a symmetrical oscillating movement having anamplitude equal to taking into account the alternating movement of thesupport 1,, of this detaching cylinder 1, and, on the other hand, arotation control (designated as a whole by the reference CR) capable ofimposing on this rack 4 a movement of continuous rotation whosedirection corresponds to a rotation of the detaching cylinder 1 in thedirection of the evacuation of the sheet (counterclockwise in the caseillustrated in the drawing) and whose angular speed is such that thecorresponding theo retical movement of the detaching cylinder 1 is amovement of continuous rotation having, for a time lapse equal to theduration of a single stroke (in one direction or the other) of thecylindrical rack 4, an amplitude equal to In this manner, under theconjugated and continuous action of the translation control CT and ofthe rotation control CR, the rack 4 undergoes movements of translationand of rotation which are superimposed and which both have an influenceon the resultant movement of rotation of the pinion of the helical wheel2 which is influenced, in the direction of the extraction of th treatedsheet, by the sum of the movement of translation and of the movement ofrotation of the rack 4, which is translated, for the detaching cylinder1, by a movement of rotation of ampliture A taking into account thealternating movement of the support 1,, and, in the opposite direction,by the difference of the movement of translation and of the movement ofrotation of this rack 4, which is translated, for the detaching cylinder1, by a movement of rotation (in the opposite direction to the precedingmovement of rotation) of amplitude A (less than the amplitude A It isinteresting to note that such a control of th detaching cylinder 1, notonly is compatible with the rectilinear alternating movement of thesupport 1 of this detaching cylinder, but also permits this movement tobe very easily taken into account; this movement only affects thearrangement of the translation control CT which must be such that thealgebraic sum of the oscillating movement imposed by this single controlon the detaching cylinder and of the oscillating movement of thiscylinder resutling from the alternating movement of the support 1,, is asymmetrical oscillating movement of amplitude Needless to say, toactuate the translation control and the rotation control of the rack 4,any appropriate source of power can b used, for example hydraulic,pneumatic, electric, or againas will be supposed hereafter mechanical,in which case it is advantageous to subjugate both the translationcontrol and the rotation control to a single drive shaft 5.

With regard now to the two controls in question, it can also beenvisaged to constitute them by hydraulic, pneumatic or electrictransmission devices, but it seems simpler to use-as will be supposedhereafterpurely mechanical transmission devices interposed between thedrive shaft 5 and the rack 4 to provide the reduction necessary foreffectively respecting the amplitude conditions li 2 and 1 2 2 mentionedin the principal feature of this invention.

Two particularly simple and advantageous embodiments of such translationand rotation controls, of mechanical nature, will now be indicated.

First of all, with regard to the translation control, it is realized, bymounting the rack 4 slidably and rotatably on a shaft 6, by fixing onthe drive shaft 5 an eccentric plate 7 coupled by a rod 8 to a slider 9mounted on a shaft 10 and rigid with an axial thrust bearing 11 in whichone of the ends of the rack 4 can rotate, and, preferably, by providingmeans permitting the regulation of the amplitude of the reciprocatingstroke of the rack 4 under the effect of this translation control, whichmeans can be constituted by housing the articulation of the rod 8 on theplate 7 in a radial elongated slot 12 along which this articulation canbe moved, then immobilized.

As for the mechanical rotation control, it can be constituted by makingthe drive shaft 5 drive, by the intermediary of a transmissioncomprising for example a belt 13, orthogonal gearing 14, a universaljointed shaft 15 and reversing pinions 16, and a toothed cylinder 17oriented parallel to the rack 4, this toothed cylinder 17 beingconstantly in mesh with a pinion 18 angularly secured to the rack 4.

It is appropriate to note that means can be provided for modifying thetransmission ratio of the rotation control, which means can beconstituted, for example, by introducing into this control a ratiovariator, or, again, by providing several replacement sets of reversingpinions 16 giving different transmission ratios.

It will be appreciated that, due to the possibility of sliding of thepinion 18 along the toothed cylinder 17, the movements of translationand of rotation of the rack 4 can take place simultaneously in acontinuous manner.

Such control means for the detaching cylinder 1 have numerous and realadvantages among which the following can be cited:

The actuation of the detaching cylinder 1 takes place in a continuousmanner by the intermediary of controls of which all the members remainconstantly in mesh, that is to say without the intervention of anyshocks or any discontinuity in the operation of the transmissiondevices;

The inertia of the movable pieces used in the translation and rotationcontrols is relatively small, which permits high speed operation of thedetaching cylinder 1;

The overall cumbersomeness of the control means for the detachingcylinder 1 is relatively small, which permits greater compactness of theensemble of the machine; and

The detaching cylinder 1 can be mounted on a support driven with analternating movement, which is advantageous for combining long fibres,in particular of wool.

Although this invention has been particularly described with referenceto a particular embodiment, the invention should not be limited to thatembodiment, since various modifications and changes can be made withoutdeparting from the spirit or scope of the invention.

What -I claim is:

1. A combing machine, comprising at least one detaching cylinderactuated by control means adapted to impart to said detaching cylinderan unsymmetrical oscillating movement whose amplitude A in the directionof the evacuation of the treated sheet of fibres is greater than itsamplitude A in the opposite direction, wherein said control meanscomprises a helical pinion coupled to the detaching cylinder to rotatetherewith, a cylindrical control rack, said pinion being mounted so asto be constantly in mesh with said cylindrical control rack, which rackhas helical teeth corresponding to the teeth of said helical pinion andthe axis of which rack is orthogonal to the axis of the said helicalpinion, two distinct control devices, said rack being mounted slidablyand rotatably and being itself controlled simultaneously in translationand in rotation by said two distinct control devices, a first of saiddistinct control devices being a translation control device capable ofimposing on the cylindrical rack a rectilinear reciprocating movement,the amplitude of which movement is such that the corresponding movementwhich the detaching cylinder would undergo if it were subjected solelyto the action of this transaction is a symmetrical oscillating movementhaving an amplitude equal tori- 2 Z and the second of said distinctcontrol devices being a rotation control device capable of imposing onthe cylindrical rack a movement of continuous rotation, the direction ofwhich corresponds to a rotation of the detaching cylinder in thedirection of the evacuation of the sheet of fibres and the angular speedof which is such that the corresponding movement of the detachingcylinder if it were subjected solely to the action of this rotationcontrol, is a movement of continuous rotation having, for a time lapseequal to the duration of a single stroke of the cylindrical rack underthe action of its translation control, an amplitude equal to wherein,under the conjugated and continuous action of said translation controland of said rotation control, effects of which are superimposed togenerate a resultant movement of the helical pinion in mesh with thecylindrical rack, and hence to generate a resultant movement of thedetaching cylinder, this latter movement is effectively an unsymmetricaloscillating movement of amplitude A in the direction of the evacuationof the sheet of fibres and of amplitude A which is less than theamplitude of A in the opposite direction.

2. A combing machine according to claim 1, including a support forcarrying said detaching cylinder, said support being mounted to bedriven with an alternating movement perpendicular to the axis of saidcylinder, wherein said translation control is arranged in a manner toimpart to the rack a reciprocating movement the amplitude of which issuch that the alegbraic sum, on the one hand, of the oscillatingmovement of the detaching cylinder due to the alternating movement ofits support, and on the other hand, of the oscillating movement of thedetaching cylinder due to the reciprocating movement of the rack, is asymmetrical oscillating movement having an amplitude equal to 3. Acombing machine according to claim 2, wherein the translation controland the rotation control are purely mechanical controls.

'4. A combing machine according to claim 3, including a common driveshaft adapted to be driven, and wherein both the translation control andthe rotation control are drivingly connected to said common drive shaftto be driven thereby.

5. A combining machine according to claim 3, wherein the saidtranslation control comprises an eccentric plate, a drive shaft, a rod,a slider and a slider shaft, said eccentric plate being fixed on saiddrive shaft and coupled by said rod to said slider which is mounted onsaid slider shaft, said slider being rigid with an axial thrust bearingin which one of the ends of the control rack can rotate.

6. A combing machine according to claim 5, wherein the translationcontrol comprises means for regulating the amplitude of the stroke ofreciprocation of the control rack, said regulation means beingconstituted by the housing of an articulation of said rod on said plateon a radial elongated slot along which said articulation can be moved,and then immobilized.

7. A combing machine according to claim 3, wherein the rotation controlmeans includes a drive shaft, a transmission, a toothed cylinder and afurther pinion, said drive shaft driving, by the intermediary of saidtransmission, said toothed cylinder which is oriented parallel to thecontrol rack, said toothed cylinder being constantly in mesh with saidpinion which is angularly secured to said rack.

8. A combing machine according to claim 1, wherein said translationcontrol comprises means for regulating the amplitude of the stroke ofreciprocation of the control rack.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 947,070 1/1910 Willis et al.l9223 FOREIGN PATENTS 571,733 9/1945 Great Britain.

DORSEY NEWTON, Primary Examiner

